Method of handling sterile article container system
By using robotic technology with multiple robots working together in the sterile item container system, the disassembly and assembly process of sterile item containers is automated, and the problems of operation errors and inefficiency in the prior art are solved, achieving efficient and accurate handling and burden reduction.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202380070399.8
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-10-07
- Filing Date
- 2023-10-06
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-13
AI Technical Summary
The prior art has problems of operation errors and inefficiency when handling sterile article container systems, especially during disassembly and assembly, and it is a high burden on staff.
By adopting robotics technology, multiple robotic hands work together to achieve automated processing of sterile item containers. Specific steps include removing the sterile article container from the container transport vehicle, dismantling and assembling the container components, clearing the filter bracket and screen basket, and transferring it to a subsequent operating station.
It realizes the automation, error-free and efficient handling of the sterile item container system, reduces the burden on staff and improves the accuracy and efficiency of operations.
Smart Images
Figure CN119997987A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for processing a sterile article container system and an apparatus for performing the method for processing a sterile article container system. Background Art
[0002] In medical services, the requirements for efficiency are becoming increasingly higher, while at the same time high quality and hygiene requirements are also being put forward. This particularly relates to the processes when operating medical devices. These processes include, for example, cleaning and sterilization, storage and transportation processes, as well as processes in the field of medical device reprocessing units (AEMP). In particular, in the process of separating (disassembling / disassembling) and assembling (assembling) the structural and functional groups of the sterile article container system and, where appropriate, the contents of the sterile article container system (these contents are all part of the AEMP), it is crucial to prevent operating errors in view of patient safety. In other words, process flows are developed for the process flows of operating medical devices (including their storage / sterilization containers), which must be executed accurately in order to thereby meet the provable existing hygiene regulations. However, it is also becoming increasingly important to reduce the burden on staff in non-value-added heavy physical work (such as handling and loading and unloading sterile article containers).
[0003] In order to avoid errors when operating medical instruments and work equipment (e.g. separating and / or assembling structural and functional groups of sterile article container systems), while increasing efficiency and equally alleviating the burden on staff, these processes can be performed in an automated and robotic manner.
[0004] Prior art
[0005] In the prior art, processes using automation / robotics are known, which describe the processing of a single structure and function group of a sterile container system, which is concentrated on logistics single tasks such as transport and loading and / or unloading sterile containers. Therefore, the automated processing process is simplified to only a few process sequences. However, in other process sequences (such as disassembling a medical system into its structure and / or function group, and then transferring these structure / function groups to subsequent cleaning and / or sterilization stations), the main problem is that the components / structure groups and function groups of the sterile container system, for example, are designed to have components with different electronic or mechanical properties, so they need to be operated differently. It is also feasible that multiple components and function groups are the same in terms of their operation, so they can be subjected to the same operation. Therefore, it is necessary to select the corresponding structure / function group in terms of subsequent operation, which should be carried out as economically and quickly as possible. This in turn determines a specific process flow according to the expected structure and / or function group. Summary of the invention
[0006] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a method of handling a sterile article container system that enables automated, error-free and more efficient processing, such as by using an actuator / manipulator employing robotics.
[0007] This object is achieved by a method according to claim 1 of the disclosure and a system arrangement according to claim 10. Advantageous developments are part of the associated subclaims, which should also be separately claimable where appropriate.
[0008] Specifically, the object is achieved by a method for processing a sterile article container, the method comprising at least the following steps:
[0009] - First, a sterile article container is removed from a container transport vehicle by means of a first manipulator. Particularly preferably,
[0010] The container transport vehicle is emptied with the aid of an algorithm so that the sterile article containers located above are first grabbed or unloaded, and then the sterile article containers located below are grabbed or unloaded. Alternatively, the user can define priorities and / or emptying processes via a user interface so that the desired sterile article containers can be detected and grabbed with the aid of a pre-scan. According to the algorithm used, the sterile article containers located above the desired sterile article containers are unloaded first. If the priority sterile article containers are, for example, located in the second row and cannot be directly seen when appropriate, the sterile article containers of the first row are systematically unloaded until the corresponding priority sterile article container is identified (empty mode). After identification, the sterile article containers are unloaded according to their position.
[0011] - In the next step, the first robot is brought close to the second robot to open the removed sterile
[0012] Article container. Alternatively, the two manipulators can approach points or areas meaningful to them in the corresponding working space. The second manipulator preferably has an opening and holding mechanism / actuator for opening and holding the container lid, and opens / removes the container lid by the translational relative movement of the tool / actuator / mechanism of the first and second manipulators.
[0013] - In the next step, empty the filter holder of the sterile container, which is usually
[0014] The filter holder is arranged at the container lid. The emptying of the filter holder is carried out by bringing the second manipulator (which holds the container lid) close to the third manipulator and the third manipulator actuating the opening mechanism of the filter holder. By means of the translational relative movement, the filter holder can now be removed from the container lid by means of the third manipulator. However, the emptying of the filter holder is preferably carried out by means of another (fourth) manipulator designed for this purpose.
[0015] It is carried out by a robot and / or compressed air impact and / or suction.
[0016] In this case, remove the used / expended / consumed filter from the filter holder and
[0017] Collect into collection container.
[0018] - After the filter holder is emptied, in the next step the second and third robot are aligned with each other.
[0019] The relative movement reassembles the filter support and the container cover together, so that the filter support and the container cover are connected to each other again to form a functional group.
[0020] - In the next step, the assembled container cover with the filter holder is placed on the
[0021] In the rack system or on the transport device. Preferably, the transport device is implemented as a conveyor belt, particularly preferably as a FIFO track, which conveys the container lids to the subsequent operation (e.g. cleaning).
[0022] Automatic transport.
[0023] - In the next step, the second robot approaches the first robot, which is still holding the sterile object
[0024] The first manipulator is used to move the sieve basket from the container trough to the container slot of the sterile article container. The second manipulator operates its tool / actuator / mechanism accordingly so that it can grab / pick up the sieve basket located in the container trough. The grabbing / picking up can be performed at the handle of the sieve basket and / or at the anchor point of the handle. By means of the translational relative movement between the first and second manipulators, the sieve basket is removed from the container trough by the second manipulator and transferred to a further shelf system or a transport device. The further transport device is also preferably designed as a conveyor belt, particularly preferably a FIFO track. Further, the container trough can also be transferred by the first manipulator to a further shelf system or a further transport device. These further transport devices transport the functional groups stored thereon / there to respective further processing / operation stations. Thus, the process of removing a single sterile article container, separating the single sterile article container into its functional and / or structural groups, and transporting them to the corresponding subsequent operation stations is completed.
[0025] The steps described are now repeated for each individual sterile material container in the container transport trolley until the transport trolley is completely emptied or a predefined required number of sterile material containers has been removed.
[0026] According to the invention, the described method steps are fully automated. It has been pointed out here that the assembly of the sterile article container can be carried out in the same way using the same method steps, but in the opposite order and direction.
[0027] Preferably, before the method step of removing the sterile article container from the container trolley, the container transport trolley with the sterile article container located therein is first transported to the processing station. The container transport trolley can preferably be transported by means of a conveyor belt, a so-called automatic guided vehicle (AGV) or particularly preferably in a self-propelled manner.
[0028] In a further step, the door of the container transport vehicle is opened by the driving device, which step is performed immediately after the container transport vehicle is conveyed to the processing station. Preferably, the door of the container vehicle is designed as a sliding door, a rolling door or a double door.
[0029] In a subsequent step, the labels and / or markings of the opened container transporter are tracked. Preferably, the tracking is performed by means of an optical sensor device and / or an ultrasonic sensor device and / or a radio. Furthermore, these labels and / or markings are assigned to the sterile article containers. More precisely, the positions of the sterile article containers in the container transporter are assigned by means of the tracking.
[0030] In the last step, the empty container transporter is transported to the cleaning, which is carried out directly after the screen baskets and container troughs are transferred to the rack system or the transport device. The container transporter can be transported preferably by means of a conveyor belt, a so-called automatic guided vehicle (AGV) or particularly preferably in a self-propelled manner.
[0031] Preferably, the step of removing the sterile material container from the container transporter is controlled by means of an algorithm.
[0032] The object of the present disclosure is further achieved by a sterile container processing device for performing a processing method, in particular according to the method for processing a sterile container system.
[0033] The sterile container processing device comprises at least one control unit, which is designed to automatically control the processing method and on which a machine-readable data carrier, preferably separately claimed for protection, is or can be provided, on which the aforementioned method in the form of a corresponding program is stored. Further, the sterile container processing device comprises a container transport vehicle for transferring the sterile container located therein to and / or away from the processing station. In addition, the sterile container processing device has a robot system, which includes at least one or more manipulators. The at least one manipulator is controlled by the control unit in such a way that the following processing steps are performed:
[0034] - Remove sterile containers from the container transporter individually and / or place sterile containers into the container individually
[0035] Equipment transport vehicle;
[0036] - Disassembling sterile containers into individual container components or assembling individual container components
[0037] Packaged in sterile containers; and
[0038] - Remove sieve baskets from sterile goods containers and / or return sieve baskets to sterile goods containers.
[0039] The selected site has medical working facilities.
[0040] Furthermore, the sterile container handling device preferably comprises a monitoring device for tracking labels and / or markings in the opened container transport vehicle and assigning these labels and / or markings to the sterile container and its coordinates. Additionally, the sterile container handling device preferably comprises a transport device for transporting the screen basket separately from the container components to or from the processing station.
[0041] Preferably, the at least one robot has mechanisms / actuators / tools which are designed for opening, gripping and closing sterile material containers and preferably also for removing sterile material baskets.
[0042] Preferably, the system arrangement can perform both the separation and the joining of sterile container systems according to the above method.
[0043] In order to join a sterile container system, i.e. a system that has already been cleaned, the steps for handling the sterile container system are carried out in the reverse order to that described previously, wherein the components must be defined and fed to the robot in the reverse direction to the previously described disassembly direction. This applies in particular to filters that must be inserted into the filter holder by another robot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0044] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing a flow of method steps according to the present disclosure.
[0045] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a sterile article container processing device according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0046] Figure 1 A schematic flow chart showing the method steps of a method for handling a sterile article container system according to the present disclosure is shown. An embodiment for unloading a container transport vehicle 2 is preferably described. The method is described with reference to Figure 2The sterile article container processing device 1 shown is carried out. Therefore, the method steps S1 to S11 are carried out in sequence and are actually implemented with the help of the relevant manipulators according to the following description. However, it is also possible to implement individual method steps in parallel, especially when different manipulators are used for this purpose. This will be explained in more detail below.
[0047] according to Figure 2 The sterile article container processing device 1 includes a container transport vehicle 2, in which a plurality of sterile article containers 3 are arranged. The sterile article containers 3 are stacked on top of each other in the container transport vehicle 2 and arranged in multiple rows. Each sterile article container 3 also has a container cover 7 and a container slot 11, which together constitute the sterile article container 3.
[0048] In addition, the sterile article container processing device 1 has at least three manipulators 5, 6, 9 which are separately controlled by a control unit 13 (in this embodiment, represented by an input / output interface in the form of a monitor or a touch screen with an integrated computing unit), and these manipulators are preferably designed as robot arms, but other forms such as conveyor belts, push rods, etc. can also be used. The manipulators 5, 6, 9 are arranged relative to each other in such a way that the range of action of at least two manipulators overlap, so that the coordinated work of the various manipulators is possible. The position of the manipulators relative to the container transport vehicle 2 shown is also defined in such a way that the container transport vehicle is also located within the range of action of at least one or two manipulators.
[0049] The sterile article container handling device 1 is part of a handling station 4, which also includes two conveyor belts 10, which extend separately from each other, are preferably aligned in different directions from each other and lead to different further operation stations. At least one end section of each of the two conveyor belts 10 is located within the action range of at least one of the manipulators, wherein each end section serves as a placement or removal area for a component / functional group of the corresponding sterile article container system currently being operated.
[0050] In general, the processing station 4 for operating the sterile container system is constructed so that the container transport trolley 2 is arranged behind the sterile container processing device 1 from the perspective of the operating or service personnel (who are looking at the touch screen or display 13 of the control unit), while the conveyor belt 10 is arranged in front of the sterile container processing device 1. In this way, the container transport trolley 2 and the conveyor belt 10 physically limit the range of action of the manipulators 5, 6, 9 and thus serve as a safety boundary for the operating / service personnel.
[0051] Finally, the robots 5 , 6 , 9 are mounted on at least two columns spaced apart along the conveyor belt 10 , at least one of which also serves as a support for a touch screen or display 13 of the control unit, which column thus transcends all components of the processing station 4 .
[0052] The functionality of the processing station 4 can be restated as follows:
[0053] In a first step S1, the container transport vehicle is transported to a processing station 4, whose sterile container processing device 1 has three manipulators 5, 6, 9 in this embodiment, as described above. However, more or fewer manipulators may also be provided, depending on the actuators installed on the manipulators and the multiple functions they can perform when appropriate.
[0054] In a next step S2, the door of the container transport vehicle 2 is opened, which can be performed manually or in an automated manner with the aid of a (first) manipulator 5. In a subsequent third step S3, the labels and / or markings or similar identifications are tracked with the aid of a scanner and / or imaging system (not shown in detail) so that the arrangement and coordinates of the sterile article containers 3 in the container transport vehicle 2 can be determined, so that the unloading of the container transport vehicle 2 can be controlled and started with the aid of an algorithm matched thereto. The algorithm is stored in the control unit 13 and can be changed / adjusted, if appropriate, via an input / output interface or a touch screen 13. It is thus possible to unload the containers from the transport vehicle in a specific order or to intentionally approach specific containers, wherein in the latter case, a prior emptying or accessibility must be performed if appropriate.
[0055] In a fourth step S4, the first manipulator 5 removes a sterile article container 3 so that in the following step S5, the sterile article container 3 is opened by means of the second manipulator 6, in that the second manipulator 6 removes the container cover 7 by means of a translational relative movement. In the following step S6, the third manipulator 9 removes the filter holder 8 (not shown) located on the container cover 7 and empties it by means of a compressed air impact or a suction device. Subsequently, in step S7, the filter holder 8 is replaced on the container cover 7 and transferred to the first transport device 10 (corresponding to step S8), which is designed as a conveyor belt. In the following step S9, the second manipulator 6 removes the screen basket 12 located in the sterile article container 3, in which the medical working device is located. In the next step S10, the screen basket 12 is transferred to the second transport device 10 by means of the second manipulator 6, which is also designed as a conveyor belt. In the same step, the container trough 11 is transferred by the first manipulator 5 to the first transport device 10 arranged axially adjacent to the second transport device. Steps S1 to S10 are repeated as often as necessary until the entire container transport vehicle 2 is emptied or the algorithm preprogrammed in advance via the user interface 13 has run to completion. Subsequently, as a final step S11, the container vehicle 2 is transported away.
[0056] List of reference numbers
[0057] 1Sterile Articles Container Handling Device
[0058] 2 container transport vehicle
[0059] 3. Sterile material containers
[0060] 4 Processing Station
[0061] 5. Robot
[0062] 6. Robot
[0063] 7Container cover
[0064] 8 Filter holder
[0065] 9. Robot
[0066] 10 Transport device
[0067] 11 Container slot
[0068] 12 Screen basket
[0069] 13 User Interface
Claims
1. A method for processing a sterile article container system, in particular for separating a sterile article container system, the method comprising at least the following steps: - removing (S4) a sterile article container (3) from a container transport vehicle (2) by means of an automatic manipulator (5); - opening (S5) the sterile article container (3) by approaching the automatic manipulator (5) or another automatic manipulator (6) and by removing a container cover (7) of the sterile article container (3); - emptying (S6) a filter holder (8) of the sterile article container (3) by approaching the automatic manipulator (5) or another automatic manipulator (9) and opening the filter holder (8) by means of the automatic manipulator (5) or the other automatic manipulator (9); - merging (S7) the filter holder (8) and the container cover (7); - transferring (S8) the container cover (7) and the filter holder (8) to a shelf system or a transport device (10); - removing (S9) the screen basket (12) located in the container slot (11) of the sterile article container (3) by approaching the automatic manipulator or another automatic manipulator (6); - transferring (S10) the screen basket (12) and the container tank (11) to the rack system or the transport device (10); - repeating steps (S4)-(S10) until the container transport vehicle (2) is completely emptied; The above steps (S4)-(S10) are performed completely in an automated manner.
2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that A first method step is to automatically transport (S1) a container transport trolley (2) having the sterile article container (3) located therein to a processing station (4).
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that A further method step is to automatically open ( S2 ) a door of the container transport vehicle ( 2 ) immediately after the transport ( S1 ).
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that An additional method step is to automatically track ( S3 ) the label and / or marking in the opened container transport trolley ( 2 ) and to assign the label and / or marking to the sterile material container ( 3 ) and its coordinates directly before the removal ( S4 ) step.
5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The automatic tracking (S3) of the tags and / or labels is performed by means of optical sensors and / or ultrasonic sensors and / or radio.
6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The container transport vehicle (2) is automatically transported out (S11) to the last method step of cleaning.
7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The conveying (S1) and transporting (S11) of the container transporter (2) are performed by means of a conveyor belt or an automatic guided vehicle (AGV).
8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The sterile article container (3) is removed (S4) from the container transport vehicle (2) by means of algorithm control.
9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The emptying ( S6 ) of the filter holder ( 8 ) is carried out by means of a robot designed for this purpose and / or a compressed air blow and / or a suction device.
10. A sterile container processing device (1) for carrying out a processing method preferably according to any one of the preceding claims, the sterile container processing device comprising: - at least one control unit for automatically controlling said treatment method; - at least one container transport vehicle (2) for transferring sterile material containers (3) to and / or from a processing station (4); a robotic system having at least one robot which is controlled by the control unit in such a way as to carry out the following processing steps: Opening and / or closing the container transport vehicle (2) and individually taking out sterile article containers (3) from the container transport vehicle (2) and / or transferring sterile article containers (3) into the container transport vehicle (2); and Disassembling the sterile article container (3) into individual container components and / or assembling the individual container components into the sterile article container (3) and removing the sterile article container (3) from the sterile article container (3) removing a sieve basket (12) which preferably contains medical working equipment from the sterile article container (3) and / or transferring a sieve basket (12) which preferably contains medical working equipment into the sterile article container (3); - a monitoring device for tracking the labels and / or markings in the opened container transporter and assigning the labels and / or markings to the sterile article containers (3) and their coordinates; and A transport device (10) for transporting the screen basket (12) separately from the container components to or from the processing station (4).
11. The sterile article container processing device (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that An opening and holding mechanism is provided with the at least one robot arm.
12. The sterile article container processing device (1) according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The sterile container (3) of the sterile container processing device (1) is used to separate and connect the sterile container (3).
13. A machine-readable data carrier, the machine-readable data carrier being preferably a machine-readable data carrier of a sterile container processing device according to any one of claims 10 to 12 or a machine-readable data carrier for the sterile container processing device, characterized in that A method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 stored on the machine-readable data carrier.